Improvement in railway rails



R s. SANBORN.

Improvement in Railway RaiI s.

NO-QIZZI QYT, Patented March 26,1872.

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UNITED 'rA'rEs IMPROVEMENT lN RAILWAY RAILS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 124,977, dated March 26, 1872.

SPECIFICATION.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, Burns S. SANBORN, of Rockford, in the county of Winnebago and State of Illinois, have invented an Improvement in Rails for Railroads; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full and correct description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of the adjacent ends of two rails united by my improved connecting-joint. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section through the rail and joint, and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of my improved springjoint.

The same part is marked by the same letter of reference in the several figures.

This invention is an improvement on the rail and spring-joint heretofore invented by me, and for which I obtained Letters Patent hearing date AugnstS, 1871. The upper portion of the rail described in the specification of that patent is nearly cylindrical, and the joint or connecting-tube is a cylindrical spring, corresponding with the interior configuration of the upper portion of the rail.

My present improvement relates both to the form of the rail and to the form of the joint 5 and consists in giving to the upper portion of the hollow rail It an elliptical form, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, and in giving to the springjoint J a corresponding form at its upper portion, and continuing its sides down, inside the rail, until they come in contact with the arched spring-plate P, which unites the lower edges of the rail.

This improvement adds, in the elliptical form of therail, a third source of elasticity to the two secured by my-patent of August 8, as the elliptical portion itself forms a spring, the action of which is supplemented by the converging sides of the lower portion of the rail and by the arched plate P. The elliptical form has the incidental advantage of affording a wider tread for the wheels without increasing the thickness or weight of the metal of the rail. The improved joint J affords a more perfect connection, as, by running to the bottom, it keeps all portions of the adjacent rail ends in proper relation to each other.

Having thus fully described my improvement, what I claim is- 1. The hollow spring-rail herein described, having its upper portion of an elliptical form, as shown, for the purpose stated. 1

2. The spring connecting-joint J, corresponding in configuration with the interior of the hollow rail, and extending down its sides. in the manner described and represented, and for the purpose specified.

The above specification of said invention signed and witnessed at Rockford, 11]., this 15th day of January, A. D. 1872.

Witnesses: RUFUS S. SANBORN.

N. O. WARNER, A. N. NionoLns. 

